FBI Confirms: It's Conducting Searches of John Wiley Price's Office and Home Right Now

​Jim's on his way to Dallas County HQ at this very moment to watch with his own eyes as FBI agents search the downtown offices of Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, as initially reported by KTVT-Channel 11. The CBS station also notes that "federal investigators have also been dispatched to Price's home and other locations, personal and professional, linked to him."

I just spoke with an FBI official in Dallas, who confirms: "We are executing search warrants, and that's all the information we can release right now." The agent said warrants are being executed at this very minute, and that no further information will be released today. Updates forthcoming as soon as Jim hits 411 Elm.

Update at 10:50 a.m.: Jim can't get in county HQ. "The FBI's not letting press in the building," he reports back. He's on his way to Price's house, where agents are congregating. We have a photog staked out at 411 Elm, to see if and when agents began bringing boxes out of the building.

Update at 10:55 a.m.: I just spoke with Dallas County Commissioner Maurine Dickey, Price's longtime nemesis, who said she found out about the raid from her assistant moments ago. Dickey says she was also told agents are in and out of Mike Cantrell's office, and that they're also at the home of Dapheny Fain, Price's executive assistant. Channel 11 says they're also at Kathy Neely's home.

Dickey's response to the news: "Should I dance, or should I sing?" She went on to compare this to the raid on Don Hill's offices: "What they did with Don Hill is they just showed up all of the sudden and swarmed all over his office. If past performance is an indication of the way things happen in the future, they're talking computers and records."

Photos by Jim Schutze

The scene from in front of JWP's house moments ago

​Update at 11:36 a.m.: Jim, along with a reporter from every other media outlet in town, is now at JWP's 5th Street house. "They may be loading stuff into cars in the driveway," says Jim. Meanwhile, Leslie's at the council swearing-in, where Mayor Mike Rawlings -- who was endorsed by JWP -- won't comment: "This afternoon's council meeting, that's what I am focused on."

In the meantime, I just spoke with county spokesperson Maria Arita, who found out about the raid around 9 this morning and says that, look, since this is a federal inquiry, she doesn't know much and can say even less. She does want to clarify a few things -- chiefly, Dickey never should have told Unfair Park that FBI agents were searching Cantrell's office.

"I don't even know who the focus is," Arita says. "They're looking at the entire second floor, and they're at various locations in the city. A lot of people are trying to guess things, and there's no way to tell yet. The FBI, when they conduct an inquiry, even if you're on the floor you're affected, including Cantrell's staff. His office is not the focus of this. That's directly from the FBI.

"I also want people to understand in terms of county business, they also need to know we will have commissioners court as usual tomorrow. We have asked the FBI to be done if they possibly can by tomorrow morning. If people have specific county business they can come to the building, but the FBI will handle that on a case-by-case basis."

The forklift that just pulled up to JWP's house, which Jim mentions in his update below

​Update at 11:46 p.m.: In a call to Unfair Park, the FBI confirms Arita's statement above that Cantrell's office is not the focus the search by federal agents. Jamille Bradfield, spokesperson for Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins, says his office "is not commenting" on the raid when I asked what Watkins knew and when.

Update at 11:51 a.m.: Jim reports back from Price's house that a worker from Complete Security just drove off. As he was doing so, Jim reports, "He said to media he'd been unable to get into whatever the FBI wanted him to open in the house."

Update at 12:44 p.m.: From Jim, "They just showed up with a forklift, presumably to get the safe the security guys couldn't." Meanwhile, Leslie spoke with Dwaine Caraway at the council swearing-in, and he said: "I am sure the system will pan itself out, and we'll deal with it as best we can. ... I am probably as surprised as everyone else, and my prayers are with him."

Update at 2:41 p.m.: Our Alex Scott is at the Greenville Ave. law offices of Billy Ravkind -- has been for the better part of the last hour and a half. Price is there now, and is expected to give a statement -- either himself or through Ravkind -- at any moment. Ravkind, of course, has been Price's attorney on and off through the years, and he represented, with Shirley Lobell, Al Lipscomb during his felony trial, with Lobell helping to get the bribery conviction overturned. Stay tuned. That statement, incidentally, will go in new item at the top of Unfair Park.

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Wow! Quick question: How many people were this pissed when they discovered the conflict of interest concerning ex-VP of the U.S. and Halliburton? How many people think that ex-President Bush isn't still making a BUTTLOAD of cash now after pissing off OPEC with his Wild West comments? You people should just come out and say why you're really pissed about and stop being passive aggressive. That's really business as usual. Wrong is wrong, period. You all are just pathetic as opposed to truly honest people.

as if stealing land,houses,and buildings wasn't good enough jwp you lil dummy set back and read how it should have been done.#1 never drive the car you steal always sell them take the money and run #2 never use dowdy ferry or those constables for hire. #3always take the plates off before any of your hommies see you getting your shine on.#4 never fight austin or use the tax accessor ,use the dallas city pound only.#5 never start a car collection off of lien holders loses dummy after you beat them they make insurance stroke them a check and guess who puts them boys in your life.#6 pay for the dallas city pound paper work austin will never reject dallas pound and if the boys show up at the pound asking questions surely one of the hommies will warn you. #7never piss off white people, play your role jwp

Great day for the people of Dallas, finally they will get that racist,bigot out of Commissioners court. The Fed's will have a real good place to make him feel right at home with corn/rolled federal prisoners in West Texas...

All you white boys hate brother John simply because he has a penis that can rip your white girfriends vaginas to shreads. One night in the bed with him and you would come home from work to find your trendy love nest empty. The "Dear John" letter says.......he stretched my vagina to the point of no return. You then must pull out a pistol and spray your grey matter on the white wall behind you.

Grey matter (or gray matter) is a major component of the central nervous system, consisting of neuronal cell bodies, neuropil (dendrites and both unmyelinated axons and myelinated axons), glial cells (astroglia and oligodendrocytes) and capillaries. Grey matter contains neural cell bodies, in contrast to white matter, which does not and mostly contains myelinated axon tracts.[1] The color difference arises mainly from the whiteness of myelin. In living tissue, grey matter actually has a grey-brown color, which comes from capillary blood vessels and neuronal cell bodies.

Billy Ravkind hasn't handled many high profile cases since Al Lipscomb; he got the federal judge who heard Al's case reversed. He defended a highly-respected legendary lawyer who was screwed over by a Dallas federal judge in a couple weeks trial in Denver, jury out two weeks or so, came back with a not-guilty. Billy did it pro-bono, that's what a lawyer gets respected for..

The lawyers representing Don Hill & Co. were middlin', none of them especially good. Billy is, if it was me he's one of a handful I'd call.

If JWP is indicted, it will be war, the Hill case was pretty much a lay-down.

Or Page 1. There is another page also. Out of 20 criminal cases brought against him, including 9 felonies, not one has stuck. Not one conviction. He even curb stomped some dude, broke the guy's ankle and nothing really came of it. It might of happened right in front of the Dallas Morning News or Channel 8. I cannot recall. He skated pretty much. Teflon.

Grey matter (or gray matter) is a major component of the central nervous system, consisting of neuronal cell bodies, neuropil (dendrites and both unmyelinated axons and myelinated axons), glial cells (astroglia and oligodendrocytes) and capillaries. Grey matter contains neural cell bodies, in contrast to white matter, which does not and mostly contains myelinated axon tracts.[1] The color difference arises mainly from the whiteness of myelin. In living tissue, grey matter actually has a grey-brown color, which comes from capillary blood vessels and neuronal cell bodies.

Not to dispute Ravkind skills at all, but the judge in the Lipscomb trial decided to transfer the case out of the area all on his own. The verdict was overturned simply because neither the defense team nor the prosecution ever made a change of venue motion. Revkind must have know it was reversible error before the trial ever started.

If its a probe of the inland port affair, then other prominent Dallas citizens will necessarily be involved too. They may have already testified to a federal grand jury. Names like Pettis Norman, Royce West, Willis Johnson, Jon Edmonds A/K/A The SALT Team. Maybe even little Ross Jr.

That's gotta be what set off the investigation. And if JWP demands equity (i.e., part ownership) from everyone trying to set up business in south Dallas County then it would have been really easy for the FBI to set up a sting.